Ripple’s recent activity in Europe offers a clear signal of where parts of the crypto industry believe the market is heading. Through regulatory licensing, public positioning on stablecoins, and forward-looking market forecasts, the company is making a case that digital assets’ next phase will be defined less by disruption and more by integration with the existing financial system.
That shift matters for Europe. As the European Central Bank advances work on a digital euro, and lawmakers implement the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, the boundary between public money, bank money, and regulated private digital money is becoming a central policy question rather than a theoretical one.
Ripple’s messaging over the past months places it firmly on one side of that debate.
From challenger to infrastructure provider
In interviews and commentary, Ripple executives have argued that stablecoins will not replace banks but instead become embedded within them. Rather than competing with deposits or central bank money, stablecoins are framed as programmable settlement tools, issued or distributed by regulated institutions and used for specific purposes such as cross-border payments, liquidity management, or on-chain settlement.
This view aligns with Ripple’s own regulatory strategy. The company recently announced preliminary approval for an Electronic Money Institution licence in Luxembourg, following similar steps in the UK. An EMI licence does not grant permission to issue money at will, but it does place a firm squarely inside Europe’s payments regulatory framework, under prudential supervision and consumer protection rules.
For European policymakers, that distinction is crucial. Licensing is not a cosmetic exercise. It determines who can distribute digital money, how reserves are held, and which safeguards apply if something goes wrong.
Ripple’s push into EMI status suggests it sees Europe not as a hostile regulatory environment, but as a market where clear rules can support scale.
Stablecoins under supervision, not outside it
Ripple’s longer-term outlook reinforces this direction. In its 2026 crypto predictions, the company argues that the era of loosely regulated experimentation is ending. The next phase, in its telling, is about compliant infrastructure: tokenised deposits, regulated stablecoins, and on-chain settlement systems operated by banks and large institutions.
Retail speculation barely features in that vision. Instead, the emphasis is on wholesale finance and payments plumbing, areas where supervisors already play a central role.
For the EU, this framing resonates with current policy priorities. Brussels has been explicit that stablecoins, or asset-referenced tokens in MiCA language, must not undermine monetary sovereignty or financial stability. Bringing them under supervision is the point, not a side effect.
Ripple’s argument is that once that supervision is in place, stablecoins can serve as a useful complement to public money rather than a threat to it.
Where the digital euro fits in
This matters for the digital euro debate because it implicitly accepts a hierarchy. Central bank money remains the anchor. Commercial bank money, including tokenised forms, sits beneath it. Regulated stablecoins may exist alongside, but not above, public money.
A recent Digital Euro News analysis explored whether Ripple’s technology could ever play a role in this ecosystem. The conclusion was cautious. Any involvement would be indirect, focused on interoperability or settlement tools, not issuance or control. Public blockchains and speculative tokens would be excluded from a retail digital euro by design.
That caution remains justified. The ECB has been clear that the digital euro will be a public instrument, governed by European institutions and distributed through supervised intermediaries.
What is changing is the surrounding environment. As private firms like Ripple reposition themselves as regulated infrastructure providers, the lines between “crypto” and “payments technology” are becoming less stark.
Integration, with limits
None of this implies that Europe is outsourcing monetary sovereignty or handing the digital euro to private firms. On the contrary, the direction of travel points to tighter boundaries and clearer roles.
Ripple’s European strategy reflects that reality. It is betting that the future belongs to firms that accept supervision, adapt to public policy goals, and operate within the constraints set by central banks and lawmakers.
For the ECB and national authorities, the challenge is to harness useful innovation without blurring accountability. Stablecoins and tokenised money may yet find a place in Europe’s financial system, but only if they reinforce, rather than weaken, the role of public money.
Ripple’s recent moves suggest it understands that message. Whether regulators ultimately agree that its technology has a place in Europe’s digital future will depend less on predictions and press releases, and more on how those principles are applied in practice.
Related: Could Ripple’s Technology Play a Role in the Digital Euro’s Future?